Yale Announces Linus 2 Lite Smart Lock W/ Matter over Thread
Yale has announced the Linus Smart Lock L2 Lite, a more compact version of the Yale Linus L2, which inadvertently takes some of its design cues from the recently released Nuki smart lock.
Whilst the range of HomeKit-compatible smart locks is steadily expanding, smart locks for European users still can’t compete with those for North America in terms of choice. However, Yale has also been active in the EU market for a while. The Yale Linus L2, was the first smart lock to support Matter, but now the new L2 Lite joins the line-up as a separate model that also offers Thread support.
The L2 Lite is a smaller round knob that attaches in the same way but with a more compact profile, compared to the design of the L2, the design for which goes way back to the days of early August smart lock models. This new lock will be available in silver and black colour ways. The L2 includes a feature called KeySense technology, essentially a button on the inside for quick unlocking, although this doesn’t appear to be something new in and of itself, as Nuki has had this kind of feature for years.
As previously mentioned, the L2 Lite uses Thread, which is a welcome update for both battery use and response times. This of course will be Matter over Thread, not HomeKit over Thread, as it supports all the major smart home Matter platforms. Unlike the standard L2, the L2 Lite has no built-in Wi-Fi. To control it remotely with the Yale app, you still need the Yale Wi-Fi bridge. This isn’t going to be required if you’re already planning to use it with Apple Home for example. The L2 Lite runs on three CR123 batteries, which whilst an unusual choice does make sense when you take into account the dimensions of the device itself.
Even though this is designed for fitting to the inside of the lock only, the L2 Lite can be paired with the Yale keypad for code-based entry, but also because of this, it doesn’t support Apple HomeKey, as is the case with the locks released by Switchbot for example.
The Yale Linus L2 Lite will be available from Yale and Amazon from 3 December 2025, at a recommended retail price of €139, around €90 less than the regular Linus L2.
